YR 8 Poetry Lesson - GTP inteiw (observed lesson).

Hi,
I have my interview for a self funded GTP on friday and I have just been given my topic Poetry (from another culture). I will be teaching a yr 8 class for 1hr - (8.30-9.30). They are top set and all working at levels 6 & 7. Can anyone advise me on any poetry i can teach please - also how long should a plenary be for this age group and time (I though I could do poetry word search - still working on the rest)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Bethan

Have you thought about a poet yourself?
Grace Nichols - A hurricane hits England has lots of resources on the 'net (including audio recordings) - although the poem is talking about an event in England there are lots of references to Caribbean. If you don't like this particular poem then she has written others that you may prefer.
Valerie Bloom - again lots of resources available.
Have a look on the Poetry Archive for inspiration.http://www.poetryarchive.org

I Know that it is aquite a basic poem but i thought we could look at the imagery, and what this prompts the reader to think of the place in which she lives and how she wants it to be - create a spider diagram and brainstorm for the following catagories:

way of life

weather

people

what problems would not exist

what can you see

can you feel anything (physically and/or emotionally)?

What tecniques does she use? (think back to the plenary - the words found are to be researched in a dictionary and used to help the students now - rhythm, rhyme, simile, metaphor, personification, aliteration, repetition)
Write your own poem that has been inspired by this poem - share with the class.

If you intend to use computers for research in the first part of your lesson you must have a back up plan in case they don't work - the internet is not always reliable in schools!
Your opening is very broad, and if you are not careful you may find that time has moved on but very little has been achieved. Narrow down the search - perhaps divide into groups with each group being asked to research one 'culture'. If you have low ability pupils you might ask them just to find pictures and label these. Set a time limit.
Don't try to achieve too much overall - time flies!
This is just my first response to your plan. Others may have contributions - but well done for coming up with an idea - your first post was very open!
Good luck!

Thank you so much for this feedback - yes it is still a working progress. All of the students are working at levels 6&7 - so not too much variation.
STARTER: Crossword - find the 7 words and their meaning (using a dictionary) - (doesn't matter if not every student finds the meanings of all the words - words will be written on board with definition. (10mins)
EXPANSION: I had thought about letting pupils work in groups of 3-4 (depending on size of class) and each research a different culture and then have a small class discussion on how these cultural identities fit in with the poem (10mins)
MAIN TASK: Hand out a copy of the poem to students and read through it - short class discussion on the poem - what is it about, imagery etc - students work in samll groups to develop spider diagrams exploring:
<font face="Calibri">&bull;way of life</font><font face="Calibri">&bull;weather</font><font face="Calibri">&bull;people</font><font face="Calibri">&bull;what problems would not exist</font><font face="Calibri">&bull;what can you see</font><font face="Calibri">&bull;can you feel anything (physically and/or emotionally)?</font>
ADDITIONAL TASK: Write a short poem of your own using the ideas that we have discussed in the lesson and in your small groups. Read some out in class (20mins)
PLENARY: Quizz students on new words learnt in lesson and cutural concepts learnt (5mins)

Me again!
Just thinking about the part where you want to have groups research different cultures. It would be a good idea to do this yourself first and either give the pupils links to go to at the outset, or have them 'up your sleeve' ready for any that say "I can't find out anything!" I would though direct each group to which culture they had to research and not leave it open-ended.
Don't forget you will also need to set the scene for the poet you have chosen - either you prepare a short demonstration on Turkey (I hope I have the correct country) and its culture before setting the pupils to do theirs, or one group is given Turkey. Either way, you do need to explain the 'other culture' you have chosen.
May come back later but hope this is useful.

Thank you so much for your help and advice
I am planning on giving them a sheet which has clothes, weather, religon, feed etc etc etc on it and the pupils fill in the gaps (so to speak) - but yes definitely take onboard your advice about setting the scene with some info about Turkey so they know what they are doing and also have a brif idea about where the poem is set.

Thank you so much for this - I think I have decided to do 'A dragon tale' - and look at the imagery and the various poetic 'buzz' words/techniques that are used and ask them to work in small groups to write a poem of their own, using the techniques that they have learnt in the lesson (obviously in a bit more detail than that).
I just want to say how great it is that everyone on here is so supportive - it's good to know that there is always somewhere to turn.

Thank you for your feedback - yes i had thought about asking them to close their eyes but I wasn't sure how well yr 7s would respond to it - and I really like the drawing idea (I was just going to have them making a list) so I will definitely use that

I have drawn up a chart for each of the students with 6 'buzz' words on it and a definition and example of the word - then in the 3rd colum the students have to fid examples of the 'buzz' words in the text. But I like your idea of cutting it up and asking the syudents to match the exples

Thank you so much for your advice and support.

You should read the poem - its Great 'A dragon tale' by Yvonne Lynch.xx